Hutchinson Builders wins tender to build new Moranbah Hospital
The heart of Queensland’s coal country is getting a much-needed healthcare uplift. Find out the cost and opening date.
Mackay
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Moranbah’s new $48m hospital is ready for construction and booked to open in June 2025, fulfilling a pledge from Treasurer Cameron Dick to funnel money into the regions on the back of a coal royalties boom.
Hutchinson Builders has won the tender for the rebuild, which will deliver a new helipad, 12-bed inpatient ward, an expanded emergency department, general and clinical support areas, a centralised reception space, laundry, kitchen facilities and delivery area into the heart of coal country.
It is expected the helipad will reduce reliance on emergency services and make inter-hospital transfers more efficient.
The 2022 budget allocated $54m to the new hospital, but the final figure has come in at $48.5m.
The new facility, which falls under the Mackay Hospital and Health Service umbrella, will also house a CT scanner and community mental health spaces.
The government’s coffers are bulging from the new royalties it whacked onto coal businesses in 2022.
December’s budget update revealed the new tiers had pumped an extra $2.95bn into the treasury, far above an initial $765m projection.
Mr Dick said he would funnel money earned from royalties to pay for the hospital.
“These new royalties that were earned in regional Queensland will not leave regional Queensland,” he said.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the new hospital would support resource workers across the Bowen Basin.
“The facility will deliver greater flexibility in services provided and better equip the hospital to respond to emergency situations, such as mining incidents,” she said.
Hutchinson has extensive experience in hospital construction, leading the $50m redevelopment of St Vincent’s Hospital in Toowoomba and a $25m upgrade of Cairns Hospital.
It is expected the build will support 100 construction jobs.
The government has also allocated $250m over the next four years to implant an extra 128 beds into Mackay Base Hospital.
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